Does an employee have a legal remedy if he is not provided a lunch period?
Yes, the law in California states that employers must provide their employees with at least a 30-minute meal period for every five hours worked in a day. If the total work period per day is no more than six hours, the meal period may be waived by mutual agreement between the employer and employee. A second meal period of at least 30 minutes must be provided if an employee works more than 10 hours per day. However, if the total number of hours worked in a day is no more than 12 hours, the second meal period may be waived by mutual consent of the employer and the employee, provided that the first meal was not waived. Employees must be relieved of all duty during the meal period, unless the nature of the work prevents the employee from being relieved of all duty and the employee and employer have agreed in writing that the meal period will be on-the-job. If an employer fails to provide a non-exempt employee a meal period during which the employee is relieved of all duty, the employer must
